The Chairman of the Holy Child College of Education Council, the Most Reverend John Martin Darko, has appealed to the government to expedite the passage of the Colleges of Education Bill into law.
He said the passage of the bill into law would give a clear direction to the management of the various teacher training colleges in the country.
Most Reverend Darko, who is the Bishop of the Sekondi-Takoradi Catholic Diocese, made the appeal at the fourth Congregation of the Holy Child College of Education in Takoradi.
He noted that, the Education Act of 2008 (Act 778) provides that, the 38 public Teacher Training Colleges in the country are to be upgraded to the tertiary status and offer diploma certificates.
To this end, he said, the Colleges of Education Bill has been prepared about two years ago on the upgrading, but it has not been passed into an Act thereby putting the teacher training colleges in a state of dilemma and difficulty in their governance and management.
He, therefore, called for the necessary attention to be given to the bill in order for it to be passed into law.
The Council Chairman also reiterated the call for the missionary basic schools in the country to be handed over to the churches to manage whilst government provides funding.
“We believe that, the churches, which are noted to be efficient managers of schools, will provide better education delivery in their schools than we have now,” he said.
He commended the students for excelling in their three-year programme and urged them to aspire higher in the education ladder.
The Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Madam Benedicta Naana Biney, charged the students to undertake research in view of their knowledge in Information and Communication Technology to mould and nurture the pupils that would be entrusted to their care.
“You need to equip the pupils that will be entrusted to your care with the competencies needed for the global economy which is driven by skills and technology”, she said.
Madam Biney noted that the availability of Internet facility and acquisition of the rudiments of skills in the use of computers for the female teacher should facilitate research for information that would enhance the teaching and learning processes in the classroom.
She charged them to live above reproach and serve as role models to their pupils and the community in which they live.
The Principal of the Holy Child College, Mrs Margaret lemaire, said 188 graduates had satisfied all the requirements for the award of diploma in Basic Education with five students obtaining second class upper, 48 second class lower and the rest had passes.
She said the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) had allocated funds to the college for research and staff development, saying the staff should be able to complete their theses and engage in other research works to enhance teaching and learning.
Mrs Lemaire noted that some non-staff members had upgraded their skills in their respective fields which had enhanced their skills, techniques and productivity.
The principal said last year the Ministry of Education through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) supplied the college with 20 new computers, one projector, a server and a coloured printer.
In addition, the college had procured 20 more computers with its internally generated funds which had been hooked to the Internet to facilitate research and learning, she said.
The principal, however, called on the government, church associations and the business community in the country for more computers for use at the library and the ICT centre to enhance teaching and learning.
Mrs Lemaire noted that work is progressing steadily on the new assembly hall and classroom projects as well as the new library complex to boost academic work.
Touching on the challenges of the college, she said the college needs more staff accommodation for ever-increasing staff population as well as accommodation for the increasing student population.
She was unhappy with the encroachment of the school lands by private developers and called on the college’s council to assist the management to demarcate and fence round the college lands.